Good Eats

A few years ago, a colleague and I bonded over our shared love of cooking. He's mostly a grill man, and he knows I'll appreciate his tales of brining, rubbing, searing, smoking, and saucing. It tickles him when he brings me a taste of something, and I can identify most of the ingredients. He also enjoys baking, and he and his wife regularly try out new cookie recipes.

It only made sense to us to organize a couple of staff events at school based on our mutual interest, and so we do a holiday cookie exchange and an end-of-the-year potluck barbecue for anyone interested. For the barbecue, he always does the main, and over the years we've been lucky enough to sample ribs, smoked brisket, pulled pork, and pulled chicken. I always make Heidi's mom's potato salad, a classic mayo, mustard, and relish-dressed dish with celery and boiled eggs. I also bring lemon squares, which are a favorite of that crowd.

Even though I retired, our tradition lives on, and tomorrow is the big day. He's bringing chicken and jambalaya this year, and in addition to potato salad and lemon squares, we also have brownies, corn salad, pasta salad, beer bread, baked beans, fruit, chips, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies on the menu.

You can bet I intend to savor every bite!

Happy to Do It

My dance card was full today! I took our neighbor's senior dog out mid-morning and mid-afternoon, as I have been doing daily since the dog walker was injured. "If you don't mind doing it," our neighbor said, "I can keep paying Sarah while she's laid up."

Shortly after the morning out, I headed over to Sarah's to let her 3 dogs out and to drop off the laundry we had done for her before picking up a few things to take over to the rehab facility where she's recovering. I stayed for about an hour before I had to leave for an appointment with another friend who was feeling overwhelmed by the thought of writing a resume and cover letter. Since I had worked on mine in the fall, she had reached out for a little support.

Then it was home again to take the dogs out. I can't be sure my actions brought any joy, but I know my friends appreciated the help.

He Asked

"Excuse me?" A man approached me in the produce section as I was adding tomatoes to my cart. "How does that thing work?"

He was talking about the cart. I was at an Amazon Fresh grocery store because they had offered me a $10 coupon if I dropped my return there. Since I was doing the Amazon thing, I decided to grab a smart cart and follow the directions on its built-in screen and my app to see what it was like to shop and check out at the same time.

I explained to the gentleman that the experience had been easy to navigate and troubleshoot. I showed him the screen with the running tally of my purchases so far, which were already packed in grocery bags. The cart has built-in scanners and a scale to keep track of the groceries as you add them. Then you just push the cart through a special lane, and it totals the bill and charges you, kind of like an EZ Pass.

"That's cool!" he nodded.

"It is," I agreed, "and it was kind of fun, too!"

You're On!

I do love me a challenge, and so I was all in when the NY Times ran a five-day activity designed to help participants learn a poem. How could I resist a description that stated,  A poem can lift the spirits and nourish the soul. This week, let’s all learn one together! Heck, I even sent the link to my former 6th Grade English colleagues! And I definitely gained an immense appreciation of Edna St. Vincent Millay and her poem "Recuerdo." 

Just the opening line, We were very tired, we were very merry--, perfectly describes the punch-drunkenness of many late nights spent with friends, and the five activities the Times offered, along with the amazing gallery of contemporary authors reading the poem, made the challenge a joy.

So when I saw that they were offering a creativity challenge last week, I was all in. And although it was no "Recuerdo," I completed the doodles and the other activities with fidelity right up until Friday morning when the directions were to "try one new thing." They offered a list of options to commit to with a click, and of the 23, I felt like over half would not be new. Even so, there was one thing that caught my interest-- the 30-second dance party.

It did involve buying a doodad, but the description also seemed kind of fun: It’s an annoying toy, but on days when you can’t fit in a workout, it’s guaranteed to get your body moving. 

So, I ordered one, and it was waiting for us when we got home from the beach this afternoon. After dog-sitting for the weekend, Treat was still here when I tore into the package and inserted the batteries. He was very obliging when the strange accent ordering us to dance for 30 seconds emerged from the button's speaker, and the three of us had ourselves a hat-trick of micro dance parties before brainstorming ways we could use the concept to bring a little fun and movement to a middle school classroom.

Willa and Liv

One of the additional benefits of winning tickets to the show last night was the opportunity to spend a day and night with some friends of ours who had recently moved down here from Northern Virginia. Traci and Rob are nice, but their three-year-old and six-month-old daughters are delightful. I can't think of anything sweeter than spending time with little kids, unless it's rocking a baby to sleep. Fortunately, I've had a healthy dose of both today, and I feel great!
 

Beautiful Evening for a Show

The venue for the I Want My 80s concert was an outdoor pavilion right on the Portsmouth waterfront. There was a cool breeze blowing through the arena
as we took our seats in the seventh row, just stage left of the microphone. John Cafferty opened the show at 7 pm sharp, and it was nearly 10:30 when a shirtless Rick Springfield shredded the final notes of Jesse's Girl. 

And, although nature didn't provide the joyful experience of three hours of live music, it sure did enhance it.

The Grace of God

Witnessing the experience of our friend who was hit by a car last week has made me grateful for so many things. I'm thankful for the safety net of family and friends I know I have, should a twist of fate knock me down. I appreciate having the strength and income to manage my household and keep it running smoothly. And finally, I am grateful that I have the time and resources to help a friend in need.